Overview
- The CNN/SSRS poll released Sept. 9 finds Democrats narrowly ahead in both contests, with Troy Jackson leading Susan Collins 48% to 45% in Maine and Abdul El‑Sayed ahead of Mike Rogers 47% to 44% in Michigan.
- Both margins fall inside each poll’s sampling error, leaving the races effectively competitive and sensitive to late movement by persuadable or undecided voters.
- Voters in both states rank the economy and cost of living as their top issue and express broad disapproval of President Donald Trump, trends that give Democrats a motivation edge among likely voters.
- State-level dynamics differ: Jackson is still building name recognition after replacing Graham Platner and much of his support is expressed as opposition to Collins, while El‑Sayed leads with younger voters and independents but is seen by about half of respondents as too liberal.
- The polls sampled 880 likely voters in Maine and 843 in Michigan between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6, and experts note historical polling variance—including Collins’ 2020 outperformance—means these toplines are informative but not definitive.